Coleman’s ‘Renaissance’ and Fröst’s clarinet artistry anchor ASO’s America-themed program
February 12 & 14, 2026
Atlanta Symphony Hall
Atlanta, Georgia – USA
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Teddy Abrams, conductor; Martin Fröst, clarinet.
Artie SHAW: Clarinet Concerto
Valerie COLEMAN: Renaissance: Concerto for Orchestra
Aaron COPLAND: Clarinet Concerto
Leonard BERNSTEIN: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Mark Gresham | 16 FEB 2026
OThursday night at Atlanta Symphony Hall, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra delivered an exuberant and thematically rich program under the direction of Grammy-winning guest conductor Teddy Abrams, celebrating America’s musical diversity, the second in the ASO’s series of “America @ 250” concerts. The program — a blend of jazz-infused classics, new music, and Broadway-born orchestral firebrands — offered both virtuosity and reflection in honor of the nation’s semiquincentennial.
The evening opened with Artie Shaw’s Clarinet Concerto, a jazz-centered 8-minute work seldom heard on major symphony programs. Swedish clarinet virtuoso Martin Fröst was the featredsoloists, and in his hands, the work leapt from the stage with swinging rhythmic verve and polished tone, surging with an effortless blend of technical precision and effortless style. Fröst’s performance — rich in warmth and playful articulation — set an electric tone for the night, reminding the audience why he is regarded as one of the most compelling wind soloists of his generation. Across the instrument’s compass, from dark, liquid chalumeau low end to the brilliant altissimo upper register, his expressive range and charismatic stage presence carried even the most familiar jazz inflections into fresh territory.
Swedish clarinetist Martin Fröst performs with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, led by guest conductor Teddy Abrams. (credit: Rand Lines)
Following Shaw came the Atlanta premiere of Valerie Coleman’s Renaissance: Concerto for Orchestra, a newly commissioned tribute to the cultural flowering of the Harlem Renaissance and the Great Migration. Kaleidoscopic in color and rhythmic vitality, Coleman’s Concerto spread the orchestra’s sections into a tapestry of sound that felt both celebratory and thought-provoking. Layers of shimmering percussion, brass fanfares, and swirling winds evoked images of community, movement, and Afro-American artistic assertion with an immediacy rare in contemporary works. This Concerto for Orchestra offered individual players prominent moments in the spotlight without ever losing sight of an overarching narrative arc rooted in American experience.
The evening’s second clarinet showcase, Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, found Fröst in a lyrical and introspective light. Copland’s unique blend of jazz idioms with classical rhetoric was rendered with a consummate balance of introspection and rhythmic lightness, capturing both the work’s melancholic sighs and its spirited rhythms.
The program’s climax came with Leonard Bernstein’s almost overly-familiar Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. Under Abrams’ baton, the ASO delivered tightly articulated rhythms, infectious Latin-inspired drive, and thrilling contrasts between aggression and lyricism, floating Bernstein’s romantic gestures with warmth and swagger. While the work is often one of the “usual suspects” brought forth when compiling a program of “American” repertoire, the Symphonic Dances offered an exclamation point worthy of the occasion — a testament to America’s cultural cross-pollination.
The evening’s programming — pairing jazz roots with contemporary reflections and Broadway dynamism — underscored a vibrant narrative of American music as both a history and a living, evolving force. The performance drew enthusiastic applause and, overall, stood as a compelling celebration of America’s musical voice.
In related news for fans of Abrams’ work, the conductor returns to Louisville, Kentucky, on Feb. 20 and 21 to lead the Louisville Orchestra, where he is music director, in a program titled “Sounds of a New Nation.” The concert features Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9 with pianist Jonathan Biss as soloist, alongside a distinctive group of American works, including part-songs and fuguing tunes by Revolutionary-era composer William Billings, William Schuman’s “Chester” from New England Triptych (itself based on Billings’ eponymous tune), and Charles Ives’ New England Holidays. With repertoire spanning the late 18th through early 20th centuries, the program is designed to explore the roots and evolving identity of American music through historically resonant works. ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Atlanta Symphony Orchestra: aso.org
- Teddy Abrams: teddyabrams.com
- Martin Fröst: martinfrost.se
Read more by Mark Gresham.
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